Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk

Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (16 July 1517-20 November 1559) was the second child of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor, the wife of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and the mother of Lady Jane Grey.

Biography
Frances Brandon was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England on 16 July 1517, the daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor. She was the niece of King Henry VIII on her mother's side, and she was close to both Queen Catherine of Aragon and her cousin, the future Queen Mary I of England. In 1533, she married Henry Gray, Marquess of Dorset. Grey's friendship with Catherine Parr enabled her daughter Lady Jane Grey to have a place at court, and Jane became a member of the young King Edward VI of England's inner circle. They failed in their attempt to marry Jane to the King, and she instead married Lord Guildford Dudley, the son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (the regent of England). In 1553, Jane became Queen of England as per Edward's will, but she was overthrown nine days later by Mary of England, Henry VIII's Catholic daughter and eldest child. Frances' husband and daughter were beheaded after a failed rebellion, but Frances pled for mercy, and she lived in poverty for the rest of Mary's reign. She died in 1559.